Dana Positive About Conor-Khabib Rematch

If Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov do have a rematch, UFC President Dana White is not concerned with things getting out of hand.

“Well, my philosophy on this stuff is that this a fight,” White said in an ESPN.com Q&A. “Since the beginning of time people have said mean things to each other in a fight, no matter what. Muhammad Ali called Joe Frazier an Uncle Tom back when that was one of the worst things you could say to a guy. He called him a gorilla – ‘it’s gonna be a thriller and a chiller when I get the gorilla in Manilla’ – and things like that. And for the rest of his life, (Frazier) hated Muhammad Ali, hated him for the things that he said about him.

“This is not the nice business; this is the fight business. This wasn’t the first time that mean things were said to another person, and it won’t be the last.”

White has been against holding back when it comes to promoting a McGregor and Khabib fight, as he allowed footage of McGregor’s attack on a bus containing Khabib at UFC 223 media day in promotional material.

A rematch or any fight featuring Nurmagomedov and McGregor is on-hold due to a continuing investigation by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to their role in a brawl following Nurmagomedov’s fourth round submission win over McGregor in October.

“I don’t know if the immediate rematch happens because we got to see what the Nevada State Athletic Commission hands down in December when that hearing happens,” White said. “So I’m not even thinking about that. I’m thinking about possibilities in the future but, right now, not even worth thinking about until we find out what happens in Nevada.”